Floor covering



Nov. 17, 1925. 1,562,387

' C. M. TAYLOR FLOOR COVERINGy Filed oct. ,2 1, 1925 Hormiga; la

Patented Nov. 17, 1925.'

UNITED- STATES PATENT OFFICE.

eALnn MARSHALL TAYLOR,

0F IELIZAIBIII'IIIHI,A NEW JERSEY.

FLOOR. COVERING.

'Application inea octber To all whom, t may concern.:

Be it known that I, CALEB MARSHALL 'lArLon, a citizen of the United States, re-

, lose, ester material on a previously completed saturated sheet of base or supporting material.

The floor covering provided is an improvement in that type known as felt base Hoor coverings and particularly in which an impregnated base is used. The present invention provides an improved impregnated and coated base having all of the advantages and none of the faults of floor coverings using the known asphalt 0r bitumen impregnated bases.

The invention is also peculiarly adapted for use in combination 'with all floor coverings in which either the wear surfacel or the opposite under face is formedof paint or other material containing linseed oil' or other oil, o'r any material subject to saponification or removable underthe action of soap and the usual floor cleaning materials.

The present invention provides broadly for a coating of a cellulose ester material over a previously saturated sheet or supporting base. The base of -sheet material must have been previously saturated throughout with a binder saturant tounify the material of the base, and such saturant may be suoli a material as a cellulose ester in solution or abitumen such as tar or asphalt. 'lhe base thus treated must be suftciently dried prior to the additionvof a.

coating sovthat it may be readily handled prior to and during the coating operation. The original sheet material of the saturated base, prior to saturation, may be the papel' felt commonly vin'ipregnated with bitumen, or the sheet material may be of any kind of felt. relatively thick and absorbent textile goods, or closely woven grass, or porous or fibrous sheet material having adequate coherence so that it may he handled in sheet form prior to saturation It is necessary that the resultant saturated .material when dried 'must have a surface suiiiciently smooth Ato be printed upon by the usual 21, 1925. Serfal No. 68,805.

block type printing of floor covering decorating machinery; also that the material of the saturant shall have become dry enough' to render the material usable under ioor coveringI conditions and under the conditions of manufacture of the coated article. It isimportant that the texture of the base be fairly even 'on atleast one surface so that it may be coated or printed upon, and that no pronounced ribs or strands or widely separated threads, as in a loosely woven bur-v lap, be on the surface inasmuch as such a..V

condition would remove its usefulness as a 'smooth surface Hoor covering article. It is further extremely important that the saturated base, after having a-ll excess unabsorbed saturant squeezed out, shall have adequate thickness to serve as a wearable article for floor coverings and must also be substantially homogeneous throughout and uniforinly resistant. at all points to impact and to the use accorded floor coverings. It must have suilicient, thickness and weight to lie fiat on the floor and remain in place under wear conditions.

Claims to such a coating over a bitumen impregnated sheet base are presented in my copending application Serial 528,298, filed January l0. 1922.

ln addition to the foregoing broad conception of a coating over any typeof homogeneous saturated base the present invention is directed particularly to the use of a -coating over va base saturated with a. cellulose ester material, in accordance with the details claimed in my application Serial No. 528,297, filed January 10, 1922.

Bitumen impregnated-felt base iloor coverings may be recognized by the main dark body which is particularly evident when the material is cut. The felt of such bases may be made from rags. or from. paper, or any cellulose material, or from a mixture of such materials, thoroughlyl impregnated with' asphalt or tar or some suitable bitnf minous material. lvlien used as a supportingbase for floor covering it is the usual practice to coat the bitumen in'ipregnated base with a. layer of paint and o'l'ten to apply various painted designs, all of which may be applied in any convenient manner. Also, a coat of paint is applied to the opposite or under surface of the impregnated base to cover the dark and unsightly bitumen impregnated base.

In the manufacture of such bitumen im- Ica pregnated bases it hasbeen found that the wear paint and the decorative paint mayvbecome discolored, due in part to the next interior material of the bitumen of the base. Also in drying the paint coats it is necessary to dry at relatively low temperatures and for a longer period of time, often as long as four or live days. A higher temperature and more rapid drying would tend to liquefy the bitumen and delay proper drying of the paint and also discolor the paint due to the release of'materials from` the base. Thus a baking temperature 175 F., or more, such as is desirable for drying the paint coats, is not advisable in the usual drying of 'such coated bases.

. After the present known product is completed it is usually necessary to place paper .between adjacent surfaces when the ma- .terial is rolled or stacked in layers to pre- -sessing the desirable characteristics of bitumen impregnated bases of durability, fiexibility and softness, and is also waterproof v and weatherproof. Most important, the impregnating material will not soil 'and may be lsubject, to relatively high baking temperatures Without discolorin-g the paint thereon. The use of the base of this invention renders it unnecessary to apply the coat of paint to the under surface of the fioor covering, renders-it unnecessary to use the spacing paper,

K and avoids all danger of discoloration ofthe decorative or wear coats of paint.and finally I makes it possible to complete the drying, of

phor.

the paint coats in aanuch shorter length of time thanheretofore possible Where bitumen impregnatedbases are used.

In producing the impregnated felt .base .of this invention, the usual rolls of felt may be used. A saturant-solution is prepared` of a mixture of nitrocellulose anda solvent therefor. Preferably a substantial quantity of a semi-drying or ldiying vegetable oil is added to the mixture as a softening 'material, and it is desirable to add a quantity vof resin, such as cumaron, or kauri, or cam- To this cellulose mixture may be added'a'pigment color of any desired shade, a featurev,.not heretofore known in floor coverings.` The mixture is brought to the 'desiredfworking temperature and' the felt is satin-atedv lwith it by being passed through tanks, or othersuitable applying means, -and finally it is ssed through pressure rolls to press outallniaxcess saturant solution. The

felt is'zthen dried at a suitable temperature, j

for instance, approximately 140 F. for 5 to 15 minutes, after- Which it is coated with a scalinor coat of a cellulose ester solution prepared and applied accordingv to the details hereinafter set forth'.I .The sealing coat thus comprises al wearacoat for receiving the impact and friction of floor usage.

' For the coating solution a mixture of nitrocellulose and a solvent therefor is prepared. Preferably the desired quantity 'of a drying or semi-drying vegetable oil is add- Ved to the mixture as a softening medium.

perature of approximately 140 F. 'The' coated base may be used as such for a door 'als covering, or preferably maybe further coat i ed with Wear or decorative paint coats, or the pyroxlrn coat may carry a pigment to give the desired shade of color.

Other cellulose esters than nitrocellulose, such as acetyl cellulose may be used for `either the saturant solution or the coating.

One satisfatory mixture for the saturant solution `may be made by using 10 parts by weight of nitrocotton, and parts by Weight of a solvent mixture, which mixture may be composed of 35 per cent of acetone oil and 65 per cent of such a diluent as solvent' naphtha, or xylol, or toluol, or benzol. v Any Well known working formula may be used for combining sucha mixture of 'drying or semi-drying vegetable -oil'with nitrocotton.

.To such a mixtu`re'30 parts by Weight of linseed oil or other semi-drying or drying vegetable oil can vbe added.` Also, 5 parts by lweight of a resin could be incorporated in the mixture. The amount of coloring pigment may be varied as desired.

One satisfactory mixture for the coat-ing solution may be made by using 12 parts by Weight of jnitrocotton, and 88 parts by ,weight of a solvent mixture. which'may be composed of 35 per cent of acetone oil and 65 per cent of such Aa diluent as solvent naphtha, xylol, toluol'-, or benzol. Any well known Working formula may' be used ,for col'nbinng such a mixture of drying or semidrying vegetable oil and nitrocotton. r To such a mixture 12 parts by weight of 1inseed oil or other semi-drying or drying vegetable Aoil can be added. Vl2 parts of a resin may be added'tov advantage. i

It will thus be seen that the. coating is relatively hard as compared to the dried impregnatedmaterial because of the presence of a larger proportion of resin and a smalleramount of oil in the coating than in the impregnated material.l The: ratio of the above examples being -1` part of resin and 6 parts of 011 in the saturating solutionand eqlual parts of resin and oil .in the coating so ution.

In the accompanying drawing Figure 1 represents an enlarged sectional' view of a 'l sheet of impregnated felt 1 having coatings 2 on the lower face and 3 on the upper face.

Figure 2 is a sectional view of a modification in which no under coat is provided. Figure 3 is a plan view of the material illustrated in Figs. 1 and 2. i

The resultant material may be used as the desirable tough, c lean floor covering base having the above mentioned desirable qualities of a bitumen impregnated base and none of the recognized undesirable features.- As a result of the treatment, the tensile strength of the base is increased at least percent, and the material of the felt is cemented together. 1t is thus possible to use a relatively cheap grade of felt. This process toughens the texture of the felt, gives it a smooth surface and better base for paint coats than the base provided by bitumen' materials, and there is no tendency to bleed sticky tarry material as where bitumen felts are used, neither is it necessary to use a sealing coat on this saturated felt before applying the print or decorative coat. It is particularly important that 'thesurface be smooth enough to receivethe decorative paint which is usually applied by the 'so-called block printing machine. A .rough or tufted surface will not take the decorative designs.

The outer coatings materially increase the tensile strength of the saturated base. The material possesses good .wearing qualities whether it is considered particularly in regard to the underneath coating or as an upper wear coat.

lliis invention provides a floor covering .in which the body of the felt may be tinted, or the material of the outer coats may be tinted, and either effect provides a floor covering in marked contrast to the present known asphalt base coverings which have a black bas'e with protective paint coats on each side. Y

The 4impregnated and coated' base maybe further coated with wear and decorative copending application Serial No. 528,301 in which au outer coating of pyroxyliii is applied to the surface of a decorative paint coat. The paint coat is applied directly to the present coated hase.

This application is a continuation iii part cov paintcoats as provided and claimed in the of the smooth surface floor covering type impregnated throughout with a cellulose esterl satui'ant and having the opposite lfaces of the 4base coated with a sealing coat of' a film of cellulose ester material.

3. A floor covering comprising a f'elt. base of the smooth surface floor covering type impregnated throughout its thickness with a cellulose ester saturant and coated with a mixture of a cellulose ester and a softening medium.

4. A floor covering comprising a cellulost` ester impregnated-felt base of the smooth surface floor covering type coated with a mixture of a cellulose ester,.arsoftening me-- dium, and a resin.

5. A floor covering comprising a cellulose ester impregnated 'felt base of' the smooth surface fioor covering type coated with a mixture of a cellulose ester, a resin, and a vegetable oil. p z

'6. A floor coveringcomprising a felt base of the smooth surface floor covering type impregnated throughout with a cellulose ester saturant, and coated with a film of a mixture of nitrocellulose and a softening l,

medium.

7. A floorcovering comprising a cellulose ester impregnated felt base of the smooth surface floor covering type coated with a film of a mixture of nitrocellulose and a resin.

- 8. A fioor covering comprising a cellulose ester impregnated felt base of the .smooth surface floor covering type coated with a film of a mixture of' nitrocellulose, a resin, and a softening medium.

9. A lioor covering comprising a cellulose 'ester impregnated l'elt hase ttf the smooth surface iioor covering type coated with a mixture of a. cellulose est er and a pigment: color.

10. A fioor covering comprising a felt base Aof the smooth surface floor covering type impregnated throughout with a cellulose ester saturant including a drying oil and llt) having a covering of a coating of a cellulose ester. l

11. A floor covering con'iprisiug a felt base of the smooth surfacel ioor covering type impregnated throughout with a cellulose ester saturant and having a coverii'ig f of a mixture of .a cellulose ester and a softening materia-l consisting of a vegetable drying oil.- l

12. A fioor covering comprising a felt hase ofthe smooth surface floor covering type impregnated with a cellulose ester satin-ant having a covering of a mixture of a cellulose ester, a resin, and a softening material.

13. A floor covering comprising a feltbase of the smooth surface fioor covering type impregnated throughout with a cellulose ester saturant and having a covering vll5 of a mixture-of a vcellulose ester and a coloring pigment. i

14. A floor covering comprising a felt base of the smooth surface floor coilering type impregnated throughout A,with a v{saturant of nitrocellulose and having a coating of a cellulose ester.

15. A Hoor covering Acomprising a felt base of the smooth surface iioor covering type impregnatedthroughout with a satu: rant of'a mixture of nitrocellulose, and a softening medium, and havinga coating of a cellulose ester.

16. A floor coveringcomprising a feltv base of the smooth surface floor covering type impregnated with a saturant of a mixture ofl nitrocellulose, resin, a softening medium, and having a coating of a cellulose ester.

17. A Hoor covering comprising a felt base of the smooth surface fioor covering type impregnated throughout with va saturant of a mixture of nitrocellulose including a pigment color, vand having acoating of a cellulose Vester.

18. A floor covering comprising afrfelt hase of the smooth' surface vfloor covering Y type impregnated throughout with a saturant of a mixture of nitrocellulose and a softening medium, and having a coating of a nitrocellulose material. l

' 19. A Hoor covering comprising a felt base of the smooth surface floor covering type impregnated with a. saturant of a mixture of nitrocellulose, resin, and a soften- 'ing medium, and Ahaving a coating of a nitrocellulose material.

20'. A floor covering con'iprising a felt base of the smooth surface floor covering type impregnated throughout with a saturant, of a mixture ofnitrocelluloseincluding a pigment color, and having a coating of a nitrocellulose material.

2'1. A fioor covering comprising a felt hase of the smooth surface floor covering type impregnated throughout with a saturant and havingv a coating on at least one face thereof of a cellulose ester.

22. A vfloor covering of the smooth surfaee type comprising 'a base of porous sheet having. sufficient -thickness for use as floor cover-mg material and impregnated throughout with a blnder saturant, said 'base of the smooth surface ioor covering type impregnated with a mixture of a `cellulose ester, a resln and 011, and havlng a coating of a mixture containing a cellulose ester, and oil and a larger proportionof resin than contained in the impregnating material. n

25. A floor covering comprising a felt base of the smooth surface fioor covering type impregnated With a mixture of a cellulose ester, a resin and oil, and having a coatlng of a mlxture containing a cellulose ester, a resin, and a smaller proportion of oil than contained terial.

26. A floorcovering comprising .a felt` hase of the smooth sur-face floor covering type impregnated with a mixture of a vcellulose ester, a resin and oil, and having a coating of a mixture containing a cellulose ester, a smaller proportion of oil than contained in the impregnating material, and 'a larger amount' of jresin than contained in the impre ating material.

AA oor covering comprising a base of the smooth surface floor covering type in the. inipr'egnating maimpregnated With-fa mixture containing a cellulose ester and an oil, and having thereon a coating of a cellulose ester, resin, and a softening medium.

28. A ioor covering comprising -a base of the smooth surface floor covering type impregnated with a mixture containing al cellulose ester and an oil, and havingthereon a coating-of a cellulose ester, resin, and

oil, said coatinghaving .a smaller proportion of oil lthan the material ofl the impregnating mixture. l

' In ltestimony Whereof'Iaiix my signature.

CALEB MARSHALL TAYLOR 

